Saya mahu makan di restoran lain esok.

I want to eat at another restaurant tomorrow.

Breakdown of Saya mahu makan di restoran lain esok.

• saya: I
• makan: to eat
• mahu: to want
• di: at
• esok: tomorrow
• restoran: the restaurant
• lain: another

Questions & Answers about Saya mahu makan di restoran lain esok.

Why is mahu used for “want” here? How is it different from ingin, nak, or hendak?

• mahu is the neutral, standard word for “want.”
• ingin also means “to wish” but is slightly more formal or literary.
• nak is the colloquial equivalent of mahu (very common in spoken Malay).
• hendak is quite formal or archaic, often found in legal or poetic contexts.

How is future time expressed in this sentence? Why isn’t there a word for “will” or “going to”?

• Malay verbs don’t change form for tense.
• Future time is marked by adverbs like esok (tomorrow) or by the auxiliary akan (“will”).
• Here, esok alone signals that the action happens tomorrow.
• You could say Saya akan makan di restoran lain to mean “I will eat at another restaurant,” but you wouldn’t normally combine mahu with akan in the same clause.

Why do we use di restoran instead of ke restoran?

• di = “at/in/on” indicates a static location (where the eating happens).
• ke = “to/towards” indicates movement toward a place.
• Since you’re eating at the restaurant, you use di restoran.
• If you wanted to say “go to the restaurant,” you’d say pergi ke restoran.

What’s the rule for placing the time adverb esok? Can it move in the sentence?

Time adverbs in Malay are quite flexible. Esok can appear:

• At the beginning: Esok saya mahu makan…
• After the subject: Saya esok mahu makan… (less common)
• After the verb: Saya mahu makan esok…
• At the end: Saya mahu makan di restoran lain esok.
  Moving it changes emphasis but not the core meaning.

Why is lain placed after restoran? How do you express “other” or “another” properly?

• In Malay, adjectives and modifiers follow the noun they describe.
• restoran lain = “another/other restaurant.”
• To specify “the other restaurant,” you can say restoran yang lain or restoran lain itu.

Can I omit saya and just say Mahu makan di restoran lain esok?

Yes. Malay often drops subject pronouns when context is clear. In casual speech or writing, (Saya) mahu makan di restoran lain esok. is perfectly acceptable. In formal contexts, including saya adds clarity.

How would you turn this sentence into a negative? For example, “I don’t want to eat at another restaurant tomorrow.”

Use the negative particle tidak (or tak in informal register):

• Formal: Saya tidak mahu makan di restoran lain esok.
• Informal: Saya tak nak makan di restoran lain esok.

How do I talk about multiple “other restaurants”? Say “I want to eat at several other restaurants tomorrow.”

You can use a quantifier or reduplication for plural:

• Saya mahu makan di beberapa restoran lain esok. – “several other restaurants”
• Saya mahu makan di restoran-restoran lain esok. – “the other restaurants” (plural)